1     Aspen Road, Boulder, Colorado – Colors of the lovely planet

Aspen road, Boulder, Colorado – Colors of The Lovely Planet

2     Mac-Mac Falls, Mpumalanga, South Africa - Colors of the lovely planet

Mac-Mac Falls, Mpumalanga, South Africa – Colors of the lovely planet

3     Middle Falls of Letchworth State Park, US - Colors of the lovely planet

Middle Falls of Letchworth State Park and the Genessee River, New York – Colors of the lovely planet

4     Phenomenal Nature Photography - Colors of the lovely planet

Phenomenal Nature – Colors of the lovely planet

5         Red Oak on a forest pond - Colors of the lovely planet

Red Oak on a forest pond – Colors of the lovely planet

6         Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA - Colors of the lovely planet

Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

7         One of the Caribbean Beaches - Colors of the lovely planet

Caribbean Beach – Colors of the lovely planet

8         Villas near Portofino, Italy - Colors of the lovely planet

Villas near Portofino, Italy – Colors of the Lovely Planet

9         Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile - Colors of the lovely planet

Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile (Image by Phil Marion) – Colors of the lovely planet

10       Rock Spires, Hunan, China - Colors of the lovely planet

Rock Spires, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China – Colors of the lovely planet

* All images may subject to copyrights. We have mentioned the source of the images and the owners of the photographs where given. Hard to cover the exotic and phenomenal colors of our lovely planet. This series is to typically highlight the beauty of our mother earth.

The Orange Fruit Dove like the Golden Fruit Dove is also endemic of the Fiji islands which inhabits in the subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests and it is a lovely terrestrial bird from the Columbidae family. The scientific name of the Orange Fruit Dove is Ptilinopus luteovirens and it is closely related to the Golden Fruit Dove and both of these species are allopatric, meaning they do not share the same habitat in any location. One of the most colorful doves, the male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange “hair-like” body feathers.

Orange Fruit Dove is closely related to the Golden Fruit Dove – Fiji Endemic

The golden-olive remiges are typically covered by the long orange wing coverts when perched. The legs, bill and orbital skin are bluish-green and the iris is whitish. The female Orange Fruit Dove is a dark green bird with blackish tail and orange-yellow undertail coverts. The youngs of this lovely bird of Fiji resembles female.

Turtle Dove is a lovely spotted pigeon from Europe wjich is the symbol of devotion and affection in the ancient European culture.Turtle Dove has also remained a main feature in the poetic stuff of the Renaissance Europe and the classical European folklore. The Turtle Dove is scientifically known as Streptopelia turtur and it is also named normally as the European Turtle Dove. The Turtle Dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. The natural habitat of the turtle dove is the region of the Northern Africa and Europe but naturally being a migratory bird, the population of the turtle dove is now found in many other countries of Asia as well.

Turtle Dove – AN IMAGE BY Gary Huston – FLICKR

The turtle dove is a bird of open rather than dense woodlands, and frequently feeds on the ground. It makes its nest occasionally in large gardens, but is usually extremely timid, probably due to the heavy hunting pressure it faces during migration. The flight is often described as arrowy, but is not remarkably swift. Smaller and slighter in build than many other doves, it measures 24–29 cm (9.4–11 in) in length, 47–55 cm (19–22 in) in wingspan and weighs 85–170 g (3.0–6.0 oz). the European Turtle Dove may be recognised by its browner colour, and the black-and-white-striped patch on the side of its neck. The tail is notable as the bird flies from the observer; it is wedge shaped, with a dark centre and white borders and tips. When viewed from below, this pattern, owing to the white under-tail coverts obscuring the dark bases, is a blackish chevron on a white ground. This can be seen when the bird stoops to drink and raises its spread tail.

A spotted turtle dove – An image by Ruben Alexander

This lovely spotted pigeon from Europe is although a specie of least concern on the list of threatened species of IUCN, but the population of the Turtle Dove is dangerously decreased on a rapid rate due to the massive farming and destuction of their natural habitat.

Let us tell you about another lovely desert pigeon which is the resident of the arid and dry zones of the African continent. This is Emerald-spotted wood dove which is a species of open drier deciduous woodland and second growth and normally it is absent from evergreen rainforests and semidesert areas. The scientific name of the Emerald-spotted wood dove is Turtur chalcospilos and its global population size has not been quantified, because it is normally found in abundance.

An Emerald-spotted wood dove in a tree – Image by Carol Foil on flickr

Emerald-spotted Wood Dove is a small plump pigeon, typically 20 cm in length. Its back, hindneck, wings and tail are pale grey brown, and the folded wings have green metallic patches. There are blackish bands on the lower back and tail. The forehead, crown and nape are bluish grey, fading to pinkish grey on the throat. The underparts are mauve-pink, becoming whiter on the belly. The bill of this dove is blackish with a red base. The sexes are similar, but the female may be slightly duller than the male.

The Emerald-spotted Wood Dove – A lovely pigeon of the desert – Image by Derek Keats 

This lovely desert pigeon like the laughing dove builds a flimsy stick nest in a tree or shrub, and lays two cream-coloured eggs. Both sexes of the Emerald-spotted Wood Dove incubate for 13–17 days to hatching, and feed the squabs for 13–17 days to fledging.

The Lemon Dove is also known as Cinnamon Dove which is scientifically called as Columba larvata. The Lemon Dove is a lovely African pigeon which is a bird species in the pigeon family (Columbidae). Sometimes, the lemon dove is mixed the other pigeons of the genus Columba but the lemon dove has distinctive terrestrial habits and as far as its appearance is concerned; the male lemon dove has white face and forehead.

Lemon Dove – A lovely African Pigeon – Image by Arthur Chapman

The Lemon Dove is a specie of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and its population is widely distributed in  Africa. The diet of the lemon dove consists mainly of various small fruits, seeds, molluscs and insects. The female usually lays two creamy white eggs. This lovely African pigeon is fairly small, measuring 24–30 cm (9.4–12 in) in length and weighing 81.7–150 g (2.88–5.3 oz). Adult males have a plumage that is dark brown above, glossed green on sides of neck, and cinnamon brown below. As noted, they have conspicuous white face markings. The feet, iris and orbital skin are red, the bill is black. Females and young males are generally similar, with a lighter brown plumage and dull grey facial markings. The males of western African subspecies have a dark grey plumage.